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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Inside knowledge of undergrad Linguistics at CSULB

I'm sure i'll be leaving some parts out because my memories are becoming foggy,

i hope i can help the future ling. out with class selection (but do keep in mind that things can change )

Minus the graduate professors, I had the opportunities to take classes with all the linguistics professors except for Dr. Jaffe and Dr. Kumpf.

Undergraduates Courses in Linguistics @ CSULB Fall 2009-Spring 2013101. Introduction to the World's Languages with Dr. Attinasi (Spring 2010)Textbooks:Class presentation:Test/ Exam Style:Paper requirement:Personal experience:
151. Fundamentals of American Sign Language I With Dr. Rennie (Fall 2012)Textbooks: 1 textbook, 1 short novelClass presentation: every class day you will have to go up in front of the class and sign some words or sentencesTest/ Exam Style: quiz after each section, 1 midterm, 1 finalPaper requirement: 1 book summaryPersonal experience: at first its intimidating but at the end its all fun

301. Introduction to Research Methodswith Dr. Abbuhl (Spring 2013)Textbooks: 2 textbooks, some reading handouts via beachboardClass presentation: provides ppt and handouts before class via beachboardTest/ Exam Style: 1 midterm, no finalPaper requirement: Personal experience: It was very challenging but rewarding because I actually felt that this is what a college level class should have been.

329. Introduction to Language Acquisition with Dr. Galasso (Fall 2010)Textbooks: 1 textbookClass presentation: go to class, take notes or read the book. your choiceTest/ Exam Style: 1 midterm, 1 final, 1 phonology quizPaper requirement: 1 short paper on what you have learned in the classPersonal experience: love this class, topic was interesting and the professor did a great job in teaching the material.

420. Phonology with Dr. Hertz (Spring 2011)Textbooks: 1 textbook that was never used in class, 1 copy of notes that he wroteClass presentation: you will learn more from not paying attention to his class. just read his textbook. dont ask him question because he will not give you a direct answer. save yourself and bring something else to do during his class if you are going to be in classTest/ Exam Style: 1 midterm, 1 finalPaper requirement: 1 paper. 10 pages exactly. FYI i wrote a paper on korean vowel phonology and he said that my information was incorrect. I got the korean vowel phonology information through korean phonology book written in korean as well as korean linguist. this professor might have never learned about language changes through time because his information in korean vowel phonology is in the 1970's or before.Personal experience: worse professor in linguistics if you can avoid him do avoid. or else you're gpa will take a direct hit.

421. English SyntaxDr. Hertz (Spring 2011)Textbooks: 1 textbook from like the 1970's and 1 copy of notes that he wroteClass presentation: you will learn more from not paying attention to his class. just read his textbook. dont ask him question because he will not give you a direct answer. save yourself and bring something else to do during his class if you are going to be in classTest/ Exam Style: 1 midterm, 1 finalPaper requirement: 1 paper, 10 pages exactly. I got points taken off because I had an appendix and while some of my friends did and did not have appendix they didnt get points off. Also my references in looking at "who" in Korean, Japanese, and English came from native speakers of the representing languages and he also dismissed that.Personal experience:worse professor in linguistics if you can avoid him do avoid. or else you're gpa will take a direct hit. FYI i think he might be a bit racist towards asians...

- Tsianina,K and Mccarthy, T. (2006). How to remain an Indian. New York. Teachers’ College Press.

- Anthology copy (if he said it's not that expensive don't believe him. It cost somewhere between $35-$45)

Class lecture style: - there won't be a lot of lecture (in terms of out of 30 class meet, maybe he will lecture somewhere around 8-10 times)- Mostly it will be student presentation on the selective reading section- You or Dr. Sharifi will provide questionTest/ Exam Style: 1 Midterm & 1 Final- Midterm and Final were take home; but the catch was we had to cite from the readings.- From my observation, Paper requirement: 1 ethnographic research- don't remember requirementsPresentation: 1 presentation- present your part of the reading (everyone will select which book and which chapter they will present early in the semester)Personal experience: At first I was frustrated by the class because it was very disorganized. But with disorganization, there were some good perks. Like if you missed the dead line to turn in your assignment he will gladly? take them the next time. Also there were many cases the due dates had to be push back. Odd thing about his class

426. History of the English Language with Dr. Hall (Fall 2011)Textbooks: 1 workbook, 1 textbookClass presentation: go to class and listen or write notes. it will help, a lotTest/ Exam Style: 1 quiz (phonology), i think we had papers to write for midterm and finals instead of actual examPaper requirement: 2 papersPersonal experience: love this class, learned how to us OED and corpus

428. Applied Linguistics with Dr. Finney (Spring 2012)Textbooks: 2 textbooks required- Schmitt, Norbert (Editor) 2010. An introduction to Applied Linguistics (2nd Edition). Hodder Education, London, Britain- Groom, Nicholas & Littlemore, Jeannette (G&L) 2011. Doing Applied LInguistics: A Guide for Students. Routledge, London & New York- supplement readings on BeachboardClass presentation: power point slides (they are provided to you after the lecture).Test/ Exam Style: 1 Midterm & 1 FinalMidterm: all multiple choiceFinal: multiple choice (not sure if there was a written portion or not but definitely multiple choice)Paper requirement: 1 paper- Mini Research paper: page count was not specified in syllabus but as a class we decided somewhere around 7 pages or soPresentation:- 1 Group Article: any article relating the linguistics field and present to classPersonal experience: Through the opportunity of doing article presentation in this class, I have planned to continue on to grad school in Forensic Linguistics. For that I am really thankful for having this class. The Dr. Finney is a great professor, when we had discussion about bilingual(ism) he has a lot of knowledge that were discussed between him and the students. RECOMMEND

438./538. Psycholinguistics with Dr. Hall (Spring 2012)Textbooks: no textbook required, all the reading were posted on BeachboardClass lecture style: mixture of powerpoint, video, audio, whiteboardKey to success in class: DON'T miss any of her class because taking notes as she lecture is the best way to obtain answers/ information for study guides. I wrote and drew everything that she did and it helped me so much with the exams without having to do a lot studying.Test/ Exam Style: 1 Midterm & 1 Final- both exams are short answer/ essay format.- to receive good grades (like getting an A or B) write everything you know about it without repeating yourself)- BEST part about these exams are that they are narrowed down and focused to certain points that she wants you to remember without just tossing out the information after you took your exams.Paper requirement: 3 papers- Speech error: 4-7 pages- Gating project: 4-6 pages (for this research replication, YOU BETTER KNOW how to create graphs/ charts)- Verbal Label: 2-4 pagesPresentation: No class presentationPersonal experience: Dr. Hall is a wonderful person. She is actually there to teach you and you actually learn about the subject. This was my second class with her. The papers/ research were all interesting and fun to do. The only catch was among the class mates, the students had trouble with the gating project because during our time spring 2012 linguistics program did not require us to take Ling 301 which would have prepared them in using programs that can help them create charts and graphs. The class was interesting, I always though Dr. Hall to hold answers to everything. She is just an amazing person. Take any or all the classes that she will be teaching because you will LEARN something. RECOMMEND460./ 560. TESOL Composition with Dr. Fender (Spring 2013)Textbooks: 2 textbooks, other texts from beachboardClass lecture style: discussion, causal, free styleKey to success in class: go to class, participate in the discussion, they will help you out with midterm and final. Or you will have to read all the reading to understand what to write about for the midterm and finalTest/ Exam Style: midterm- take home, final- take homePaper requirement: Tutor analysis paperPersonal experience: In ling 460 or 560 you are required to do minimum of 10 hours tutoring in academic witting.

Personal experience: I had a wonderful time in this class, except for the part where readings for each week was like an average of 100pages or so. The professor is really nice, she will be willing to help you in every way. If you're lost in this class or there are some things that you don't understand make sure you ask because she will try her best to clarify. By having this poster presentation, it allowed the students during this year to write in their personal statement or resume as professional experience. RECOMMEND